Conventional absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, have employed elastic members secured to the waistband portions of the article. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,150 issued Apr. 20, 1976 to C. Schaar and U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,408 issued Jan. 24, 1984 to H. Karami, et al.
Since the garment material is typically nonstretchable and since the waist elastic must be aligned along the side-to-side, cross-direction of the garment, the integration of the elastic member into the garment waistband has been difficult. One technique for addressing this difficulty is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,747 issued Aug. 25, 1981, to J. Rega. In this technique, a web is foreshortened in the transverse direction and the end portions of an unstretched elastic member are adhered transverse of the web. The foreshortened web is then returned to its original dimension and the stretched central portion of the elastic member is adhered to the web.
Other techniques have employed notches or slits formed through the garment waistband material. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,781 issued May 3, 1983 to M. Sciaraffa, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,233 issued July 19, 1977 to T. Kozak. Unstretched elastic members can then be attached to the garment waistbands. The notches or slits allow the garment waistband material to expand when tension is applied to stretch the elastic member.
In addition, specific diaper designs have been configured to allow some escape of vapors past a garment waistband through passages formed between the outer backsheet and the inner liner of the garment. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,595 issued May 7, 1985 to D. Kievit, et al. and European Patent Application EP 0 219 969 A1 published 29 Apr. 1987 with the inventors listed as J. Daugan, et al. Daugan, et al. describe a disposable diaper having a waistband which is gathered by an elastic strip composed of an open-cell polyurethane foam. Such elastic foam strips may, however, excessively discolor or deteriorate during use.
Conventional elasticized waistband designs, however, have not been able to provide a desired combination of fit, comfort, containment and appearance. Garment waistband sections typically have been soft and flexible to reduce irritation of the wearer's skin. When such flexible waistbands are elasticized, however, they can excessively tuck inwardly or outwardly and allow the formation of gaps around the waist and leg areas of the garment. Such gaps can increase the potential for excessive leakage. The garment waistband may be stiffened to address this problem, but such stiffening can create increased irritation and red marking of the wearer's skin. For example, the corrugated waistband design described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,595 to Kievit, et al. may suitably stiffen the waistband, but also can provide a stiff, harsh waistband edge that can irritate the wearer. Conventional garment waistband designs have also provided insufficient breathability past the waistband and have presented an undesired plastic-like appearance. As a result, further improvements to the design of elasticized waistbands have been desried.